Braces for DD11

[nikkistevej]

So took my DD11 to see the ortho today, they are saying she has an irregular "bite" and her teeth are misaligned. I don't see it, but I'm no dentist, they look pretty straight with no gaps or anything, she has all her adult teeth. So after insurance and all, upper and lower braces for 18 months are going to be $1550.00. Anyone know if this is a good price, DH and I never got them(no money-poor growing up), so have no idea if that is a good "deal" Any help?

 

[blessedby3]

So took my DD11 to see the ortho today, they are saying she has an irregular "bite" and her teeth are misaligned. I don't see it, but I'm no dentist, they look pretty straight with no gaps or anything, she has all her adult teeth. So after insurance and all, upper and lower braces for 18 months are going to be $1550.00. Anyone know if this is a good price, DH and I never got them(no money-poor growing up), so have no idea if that is a good "deal" Any help?

Sounds pretty decent to me. We are on our 3rd kid in braces Each one has been about $4200 and our insurance only pays $2000 towards it. We have a fortune tied up in their mouths! Praying our 6 yr old won't need them, but our track record seems to say otherwise
Our first dd24…when she got them we had no ortho coverage at all! Completely out of pocket

 

[barbarabini]

Same boat here. Teeth look straight but dentist says there is a bite problem.

Estimate was about 5000. Insurance does not pay for any of it.
Do they need braces? I have 4 kids, that's 20,000 right there. Do I just say forget it and give her cosmetic dentistry when she is 16 for 2 to 3K?

I had braces for a very long time. 6 years. Don't ask... my orthodontist died during it. But thereafter, my teeth moved and I have an overbite. It just doesn't seem worth it to me.

 

[JediBonas]

Just curious if you got a second opinion. Growing up my dentist told my parents I needed braces even though my teeth looked fine, thankfully they didn't listen to him and I think he may have been in it for the $$. My current dentist still can't believe he suggested it, my teeth are slightly misaligned I guess but no problem and they look perfectly fine. My old dentist also suggested braces for my brother, his teeth were also fine without them.

 

[nikkistevej]

I didn't get a second opinion yet, just went today. Was thinking I may make an appointment to get them. They look fine, they did say a slight overbight, so don't want that to get worse.

 

[scrapquitler]

So took my DD11 to see the ortho today, they are saying she has an irregular "bite" and her teeth are misaligned. I don't see it, but I'm no dentist, they look pretty straight with no gaps or anything, she has all her adult teeth. So after insurance and all, upper and lower braces for 18 months are going to be $1550.00. Anyone know if this is a good price, DH and I never got them(no money-poor growing up), so have no idea if that is a good "deal" Any help?

She must only need minor work, because that price seems super low compared to any I've seen. For perspective: with spacers to start, plus braces we were out of pocket almost $6500 (no dental insurance). I think you are very fortunate.

If you aren't sure she really needs the braces, get a second opinion or maybe even a third.

 

[nikkistevej]

She must only need minor work, because that price seems super low compared to any I've seen. For perspective: with spacers to start, plus braces we were out of pocket almost $6500 (no dental insurance). I think you are very fortunate.

If you aren't sure she really needs the braces, get a second opinion or maybe even a third.

Thinking that also- they said the braces are $5100.00, my insurance covered the rest, I know DH has great dental insurance(I had a root canal and paid $100- they said that was cheap).

 

[shoney]

seems pretty low to me too.

ds12 just had the top teeth put on. they are waiting for the bottoms.

The total cost came in at $5600.00. My insurance company capped it at 4800.00 and then they pay $1200.00.

we have to pay the remaining balance of $3600.00 over 20 months.

His teeth are straight, just has spaces in between, so it is fairly simple.

We had to wait until he was 12. Our insurance only covers a one time payment for children between 12 and 17.

 

[wiigirl]

She must only need minor work, because that price seems super low compared to any I've seen. For perspective: with spacers to start, plus braces we were out of pocket almost $6500 (no dental insurance). I think you are very fortunate.

If you aren't sure she really needs the braces, get a second opinion or maybe even a third.

 

[sookie]

That is an awesome price! I just got done putting 1,000 down on mine (my braces were applied last week). That doesn't include the monthly balance. This is my second time in braces.

I got several quotes from good orthodontists in the area. I went to one place that quoted me $7,500!! Eeek!

You really don't want to mess with bite problems. A bite issue can cause a lot of joint (TMJ) problems later, not to mention wear on the teeth and pain. If you can fix it early, it can be really beneficial for your child.

 

[sookie]

I didn't get a second opinion yet, just went today. Was thinking I may make an appointment to get them. They look fine, they did say a slight overbight, so don't want that to get worse.

What made you decide to take her for an evaluation if you feel that her teeth are straight enough not to need ortho? It kind of sounds like you walked in the door with your mind made up before the ortho made a diagnosis, told you what issues she had, and how to fix them. If you thought her teeth were ok, why bother?

 

[SEA333]

I didn't get a second opinion yet, just went today. Was thinking I may make an appointment to get them. They look fine, they did say a slight overbight, so don't want that to get worse.

Did you say that all of her adult teeth are in? if they look pretty straight, who cares about a slight overbite? I wouldn't pay money to correct a slight overbite for straight teeth.

We are right smack in the middle of DS13's ortho - in april, it will be a full year that he has had braces and he will need them for another year. For this, we are paying $4580. DS's teeth were very crooked because he lost a baby tooth very, very early and his jaw grew with less room that it should have. The new tooth (which was a molar) eventually grew in literally completely inside of the rest of his teeth (we joke and call it his rogue tooth LOL) The ortho tried to use a coil to spread his teeth apart so the misplaced one could migrate back in, but it didn't work and DS needs to get it pulled. We actually go to the ortho on Friday, and I am pretty sure he is going to scold us (he is older and super awesome with the kids, but he really does "scold"...he is like their grandfather! LOL) for not getting the tooth pulled yet. We were supposed to get it done last month!

Honestly, I'm pretty sure just about every orthodontist will find *some* way to get their potential customers to sign after a consultation. Telling you that your DD has a slight overbite that *might* get worse got you thinking....imagine what else they tell people to convince them to spend thousands of dollars! My DD's teeth have come in beautifully, but the ortho wants her to get braces, too. So far, we have declined. She is 9 and hasn't even lost all of her teeth yet! I'm going to wait and see how they all grow in before I decide....from what it looks like so far, my answer will be no braces for her.

ETA: My insurance pays $1500...and so does DH's. We are lucky that we have dual orthodontic coverage. It's pretty rare that our ortho office gets to process dual coverage, so they said...LOL

 

[wendow]

Our dental covers no ortho so we were OOP for dd(13)'s braces which were also done for a slight bite issue. She had an 'overjet' I believe is what they call it. The ortho explained it to me and I immediately realized it is the same thing my dh has (his was never fixed) and he has constant jaw pain. When I questioned the ortho at the consult about why to fix something that seems so minor, he said if not fixed, it would lead to jaw pain down the road.

Our cost was $5200 and again, all OOP. So your price seems great to me

 

[Lisa71]

I would pay for any ortho..my bite was off and my teeth did not look bad..so glad my parents paid..my DH parents did not and he has had bite problems, TMJ, etc...

 

[KTSMOM]

My DD 13 just finished with her braces. I would get a 2nd opinion or 3rd since orthodontist do them for free. My DD had straight teeth as well with an overbite, however all 3 orthodontist we took her too said that if she didn't get braces she may need jaw surgery in the future. Her overbite didn't seem that bad to us, nothing that effected her physical appearance, however they all felt she would have severe jaw pain in the future and that would require breaking her jaw and resetting it if she waited until she was an adult. So, we went with the braces. I believe our insurance paid $2000 and we paid $3000, which is the going rate around here. Good luck with all of this. It's expensive but well worth it.

 

[teller80]

I would get a second opinion as well.

I want to add though that if you have a flex spending account I would wait until January 2015 to start treatment (assuming you have to let your HR dept know in the fall that you want to put $1500 in it). I think by doing this you'll save $400 or so, but my math may be wrong - I'm not done with my coffee yet.

 

[aprilgail2]

She must only need minor work, because that price seems super low compared to any I've seen. For perspective: with spacers to start, plus braces we were out of pocket almost $6500 (no dental insurance). I think you are very fortunate.

If you aren't sure she really needs the braces, get a second opinion or maybe even a third.

I paid over 6,000 for my daughters as well--insurance did coved 2,000 of that.

I would get a second opinion as well.

I want to add though that if you have a flex spending account I would wait until January 2015 to start treatment (assuming you have to let your HR dept know in the fall that you want to put $1500 in it). I think by doing this you'll save $400 or so, but my math may be wrong - I'm not done with my coffee yet.

That is what I did- I made 2 payments to the ortho of 2,000 each, Jan of one year and then Jan of the next year so this way I could spread it out over 2 flex spending years.

 

[nikkistevej]

What made you decide to take her for an evaluation if you feel that her teeth are straight enough not to need ortho? It kind of sounds like you walked in the door with your mind made up before the ortho made a diagnosis, told you what issues she had, and how to fix them. If you thought her teeth were ok, why bother?

Well, the regular dentist last time we went in for cleaning told us once all her adult teeth came in, we should go see an ortho. So that was the reason we went to see one, they were all in. TBH I barely went to the dentist as a child, so just figured that was commonplace.

 

[nikkistevej]

Thanks for all the responses all!!!!! I do think we are going to get a second opinion, and then decide. I appreciate everyone's thoughts!!!!

 

[Beehn]

My daughters teeth look "straight", but she still has an overbite and a bit of an overjet that need corrected. I had 2 orthodontists look at her, both said the same thing, I just liked one better than the other. We are paying $5000.